Effects of Mirtazapine on Liver Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Rats

Background and Objective: Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury begins with tissue oxygen deprivation and continues with oxidative stress and inflammatory response. Mirtazapine is an antidepressant drug with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The current study was to investigate the effect of mirtazapine against I/R induced liver injury in rats. Materials and Methods: Albino Wistar-type male rats were divided into sham operation (SHAM), I/R (IR) and I/R+mirtazapine administrated (IRM) groups. One hour before anaesthesia, 20 mg kg(-1) mirtazapine was administered to the IRM group of the animals and distilled water was applied to the SHAM and IR groups as a solvent. I/R was achieved by clamping the hepatic artery (except for the SHAM group). Following I/R, all rat groups were killed with high-dose anaesthesia. Malondialdehyde (MDA), total glutathione (tGSH), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were determined in liver tissues. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities were measured in blood serum. In addition, histopathological examination was performed on liver tissue samples. Results: Mirtazapine prevented increased levels of MDA, NF-kappa B, IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha, ALT and AST in liver tissue with I/R and a decrease in tGSH. Furthermore, mirtazapine has alleviated I/R-associated severe hepatocyte degeneration, necrosis and other structural disorders in the liver. Conclusion: Biochemical and histopathological experimental results suggest that mirtazapine may be useful in the treatment of I/R-induced liver injury.